Physicist Dennis Nuel was the first human to probe the strange realms called anomaly worlds - alternate universes where the laws of science were unpredictably changed. But the world Dennis discovered seemed almost like our own - with one perplexing difference. To his astonishment, he was hailed as a wizard and found himself fighting beside a beautiful woman with strange powers against a mysterious warlord as he struggles to solve the riddle of this baffling world.

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Publisher's Summary

Physicist Dennis Nuel was the first human to probe the strange realms called anomaly worlds - alternate universes where the laws of science were unpredictably changed. But the world Dennis discovered seemed almost like our own - with one perplexing difference. To his astonishment, he was hailed as a wizard and found himself fighting beside a beautiful woman with strange powers against a mysterious warlord as he struggles to solve the riddle of this baffling world.

I first read this as a print book and bought the audio book after I lost the original. I loved the book but this performance did not quite work for me. The reader's voice just didn't gel for me. That said, it is a clever book with some remarkable ideas and it may be that coming to it fresh would be a very different experience - much like seeing a film without having read the book first. There is a lot to like about this and the blending of SF and fantasy (always difficult to pull off) works remarkably well here.

Absolutely! 20 years ago I discovered an amazing new world in the Uplift novels and like an unsupervised child with a bag of halloween candy, I devoured them. Over the next couple of years I read all of Brin's novels and The Practice Effect is my favorite with Startide Rising coming in a close second. I am very happy that this book finally came out in audio and pleased that the narration was good and did not distract from what I consider an amazing story.

What did you like best about this story?

The practice effect!

What about Andy Caploe’s performance did you like?

The narration did not distract from the story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I enjoyed Dennis's Wright Brothers moment.

Any additional comments?

I am disappointed that the only Brin novel that ever made it to film was the Postman. The Postman movie/screenplay was an unmitigated disaster and I would have loved to have seen The Uplift War or Startide Rising made into a GOOD film.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

Bayonne, NJ, United States

16/11/12

Overall

Performance

Story

"This book was doomed to fail"

The author started with an interesting premise, but one which could have no logical solution in the end. Brin wrapped up the book in a hurry and gave us the answers that we were looking for, but it was clear that even he thought they were so lame that they weren't worth exploring.

I've read two Brin novels now, and both of them had the same problem: Brin has clever ideas, but mediocre follow-through.

This book was kind of fun, but it also felt a bit unpolished and immature. It would have made for a fantastic episode of Star Trek or the Twilight Zone, where you can forgive some loose ends for the sake of enjoying the thought experiment. It just didn't have enough meat to justify an entire novel.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Sandra

02/06/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Practice Makes Perfect"

A really fun romp... Whimsical and entertaining... I wasn't expecting the lighthearted and humorous story from this author, but was pleasantly surprised... The only downside is the narration, which was entirely too slow and poorly paced... Worked well on 1.5 speed, but don't know if I could have handled it at regular speed...

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Carl

EWA BEACH, HI, United States

05/12/12

Overall

Performance

Story

"David Brin at his best!"

Where does The Practice Effect rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Near the top

Who was your favorite character and why?

Probably the robot.

What about Andy Caploe’s performance did you like?

Did a nice job but the story was the star.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Move me? No, but the whole concept is really fun to think about.

Any additional comments?

One of my favorite books of all time not for anything but the concept of the practice effect.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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